Max poetzsch



AUTOMATIC FEEDER.

APPLICATION men MAR-21,1919.

1,325,373. Patented Dec. 16,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES HWENTOR MHX P05125014.

A TTORNE Y8 AUTOMATIC FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2|, 1919.

1 ,325,373. Patented Dec. 16,1919.

I 2 $HEET$SHEET 2- l/VI/ENTOR V Max PocTzscH WITNESSES Mfm affrfial ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUTOMATIC FEEDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 16, 1919.

Application filed March 21, 1919. Serial No. 284,006.

'10 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAX PoE'rzsoH, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Clifton, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey,have invented a new and Improved Automatic Feeder, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to feeding devices, and particularly to anautomatic feeder for various kinds of machines, asfor instance drying,tentering, selvage neutralizing and carbonizing machines.

The object of the invention is to provide an automatic feed whichwillcause an auto .matic adjustment of the various parts whereby thecloth as it enters the machine will properly engage the pins, clasps, orother cloth engagingmembers so that'the cloth will be stretched, dried,and otherwise operated upon without any action on the part of anoperator.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic feed whichwill auto matically shift the cloth'engaging members as described so asto properly engage the cloth and cause the same to fit into the machinein a proper manner and will sound an alarm in case the cloth gets beyondthe control of the mechanism. 7

A still further object of the invention is to provide a feeding devicewhich is readily applicable to various machines now on the market andwhich may be also adjusted for various widths of cloth.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side view of the front part of a tenteringmachine showing an embodiment of the invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front view of the structure shown in Fig. 1,with the invention shown in operative position thereon.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through Flg. 2 on line33.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by numerals, 1 indicates theframe of a tentering machine, which machine maybe of any desired typeand supplied with the usual chain 2 having needles, pins or clamps 3 forengaging the edge of the cloth so as to move the cloth through themachine and stretch it at the same time. As the tentering machine is oldand well known no particular description thereof will be provided,especially as the invention resides merely in the automatic feedtherefor, which will cause the cloth to be properly fed to the needles 3without the use of an operator. The members 3' on the drawing have beenshown as needles or pins, but it will be evident that clasps, hooks orany other desired form of cloth engaging members may be used withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

In producing a structure of this kind a reciprocating rod 4: is providedas shown in Fig. 2, guided by any suitable guide and continuallyreciprocated by a link 5 eccentrically mounted on the rotating disk 6,wherebyas said disk rotates during the operation of the machine the backand forth movement of rod 4 will be maintained. This rod may freely moveback and forth, but cannot rotate. Adjacent the opposite ends of thisrod, sets of teeth 7 and 8 are provided, the teeth at each end facing inopposite directions so as to engage at the proper time a locking plate9, which plate is preferably a disk except for the cutaway portion 10,whereby the bar may slide suffi ciently near to be engaged by theprojections 11 and 12 when the disk is turned. It will be noted fromFig. 2 that the teeth 7 and S on bar 4 are arranged so that the teeth 7at the right end will face to the right and at the left will face to theleft, while the teeth 8 at the right end will face to the left and theteeth 8 at the left will face to the right. This arrangement is providedso that when the disk 9 engages the teeth 8 from -either end of bar 4the disk and the parts comiected therewith will be moved inwardly towardthe center, while if the disk 9 engages the teeth"? on either end of thebar all of the parts will be moved outwardly or away from the center ofthe machine.

The disk 9 is loosely mounted on a shaft 13 which is connected with theside walls of a housing 14, which housing is rigidly secured in anydesired manner to the sub stantially U-shaped bar 15, as for instance byscrews 16. Bar 15 may be-supported in any desired manner on the frame 1,and in is provided with a slot 20 through which a pin 21 extends, saidpin being connected with the plate 22 formed integral with disk 9. Thedisk 9 would ordinarily move down pivotally under the action of gravityuntil the projection 12 should engage thev tooth 8 but for the action ofthe cloth entering the machine. The cloth in passing over the teeth 19of bars 18 and 22 engage the same somewhat, namely sufficiently to holdthe projections 11 and 12 out of engagement with bar 4. The selvage ofthe cloth has a less tension than the body of the cloth so that when thecloth is being properly fed into the machine the selvage scapes overtheteeth 19 and merely holds the parts in position as shown in Fig.3, butin case the cloth should move too far over on to'the teeth the body ofthe cloth would engage the teeth and being tighter would swing theplates, including the disk 9 upwardly nntilthe projection 11 was inengagement with oneof the teeth 7. movement in a direction away from thecenter of the'cloth. This lateral movement is communicated, of course,through'th'e frame 14 to the U-shaped bar15 and from thence" through'the 'arm xtl tomeniber 39' and also to the yoke 42 which fits into thegroove in the hub of wheel 40" whereupon the sprocket wheel 40 and thechain 2 carried thereby are Inovedtothefedge of the cloth so'that theywill engage only the s'el' vage. The same operation takes place on bothsides of the machine so thatthe'cha'ins 2 the plates 18 and 22 thetension of the cloth" would cause an engagement with the teeth 19 sothat the plates 18 and 22 would swing upwardly and rotate the disk 9' asuiiicient distance to cause the extension 11 to engage one of the teeth7 on bar 4. hen this takes place the bar or rod 4 will pull the plate 9and associate parts including arm 41 so that the sprocket wheel 40 andthe chain 2 carried thereby will be moved to a position beneath thesclvage, the movement being in a direction away from the center of themachine. The pulling action provided by this mechanism will be repeateduntil the ma chine has been moved to a proper position for the pins orneedles 3 to engage the selvage. This occurs on either side of themachine as may be necessary. In case the cloth This would cause alateral- Laramie moves toward the center of the machine and consequentlymoves entirely off of the teeth 1.9 plates 18 and 22 will dropdownwardly and thereby rotate the disk 9 so that the projection 12 willengage one of the teeth 8. As bar 4 is continuously moving this willcause bar 18 to move plate 9 and all parts associated therewithincluding arm 41 and sprocket wheel 10, the movement being toward thecenter of the machine. This movement is repeated until the needles 3 arebrought beneath-the selvage.

As the cloth being fe'dinto the machine is arranged in apile or on aroll at a given point adjacent the machine the movement of the clothwill naturally be very small and consequently the adjustment of themachine will be but small, but in any event the needles 3-will' followthe selvagein either direction and'thereby not in anyway damage thecloth, while at the same time automatically acting to engage the clothat the right point. It';- i"s,'-of; course-, to be understood thataftcr' the selvage has been hinged on the needles 3,01 otherwise engagedby the members carried by the-chain's 2' it will move into the machineand become stretched in the usual manner determined by the way the'i'naehine' is set;

As theclbth is fed into the machine it passes through suitable guidingshoes 23 and 24 pivota=l-ly mounted on arms 25 and 26-, which arms arerigidly secured to sleeves 27 and 28. These sleeves and associate partsare identical, so that the description of one willap-ply to both. A post29', for instance. is connected with the sleeve 28', said post having anarm 30 pivotally connected therewith, said arm havinga pivotal bar 31 asshown in Fig, 1, which bar in turn carries a roller -32. Adjustablecontact members 33 and 34 are connectedto the bar 31, and suitableelectrical connections are connected with these contact members, saidconnections being also connected with a sounding device, whereby whenthese contact members are brought together the current will be closedfor'operating the'sounding device, which may be any desired kind, as forinstance an'ordinary electric bell. These contacts are held apart by theweight of the roller In case the cloth should move over to a positionbeneath the roller said action will raise the roller 32 suiiiciently tocause the contacts tobe engaged, whereupon the alarm will be sounded andan attendant may come and're-adjust the machine if same is desirable,thougliordinarily the bar 4, plate 18 and associate parts will re-adjustthe machine auton'iatically.

As another safety appliance, a second alarm is connected to the contactpoints 35 and 36. Contact 36 is connected with a stationary post 37,which may be supported in any suitable manner, as for instance by a bar38 secured to the supporting frame 39. i-This frame in turn is supportedby suitable anti friction means and-atransversebar 40:";Th movablecontact '35 lSCOI1I16Ct8(1j-i;0 l7lI6 swinging feelerbar '35=', :which-is pivotally mounted on the post 37', and'normally rests on the clothrollimmediately above the needles so that when'theclothmoves oif of theneedles feeler 35- will zswingi downwardly under the action of'gravit'y-andmove com tact 85 into eng gement with contact 36 forsounding'analarm I v When any-operator inthe viciiii'ty'hears either ofthe alarms above mentioned'they are supposed to look thefeedingapparatus over and re-adjust the cloth or the machine if the sameis necessary. By the mechanism j ust, described alarms are sounded whenthe cloth'mo'ves laterally in one directiomor lat erally in anotherdirection. -"In"-"=additio1i mechanism has been provided for actuallypulling chains adjacent either edge, where'- by the chain isautomatically maintained in the proper feeding-position for the needles3 to engage the seli age as the cloth enters the tentering machine.Heretofore one, two or more operators were necessary to feed the clothinto the tentering machine in order that the needles would engage theselvage properly, so that the cloth could not only be dried, butstretched during the drying action, and thereby caused to assume theproper shape and to present the proper appearance. It will be noted thatwhen a strip of cloth is passed into the machine properly none of theautomatic mechanism is operated except rod or bar 4, which continuallyreciprocates at all times. If the cloth moves to either side one of theplates 18 or 22 begins to pull the chain back and if the movement isappreciable one of the alarms will be sounded. The par-ts are set,preferably, so as to give the automatic part of the mechanism a chanceto adjust the chain, but the signals are arranged to sound before thecloth has moved to one side a sufficient distance to do any injury.

Heretofore usually two persons were used to feed cloth into onetentering machine, but with this automatic structure for shifting thechain back and forth one attendant may cause the feeding mechanism toproperly operate in a number of machines,

or rather oversee the feeding of a number of machines. It is, of course,evident that the feeding arrangement may be adjusted back and forth totake care of different widths of cloth, which is also true of thecentering machine forming no part of the present invention.

What I claim is:

1. An automatic feeder for drying machines, (entering machines and thelike comprising a constantly reciprocating power rod, an arm forshifting the mechanism of said machinesymeaus operated by the cloth asit enters said machines, said last mentioned: means when moved apredetermined distance by the'cloth acting as a connectingmember-between:said:arm and said power rod, a signal member,and meansfor causing the operation {o f said signal member when the'cl'othmoves-a predetermined distance in either direction; 4

'QJ -An' automatic feeding device of the character described comprisingmeans set in inotion by the cloth for shifting the chains ofthe 'machineto'which the feeder is attachedpa pair ofcircuit closing meansoperated-by the cloth when the cloth moves laterally-'=for too great adistance in either direction, a second pain -of circuit closing mansibperated' when eitheredge of the cloth moved toward the center apredetermined distance,=anda signal device connected mean, 1

automatic-f feeding device of the character described *comprising meansfor shifting the mechanism of the machine to which the feeder isattached for causing the same to follow the cloth, a roller arrangedadjacent each edge of said cloth and out of contact therewith, apivotally mounted arm for supporting each of said rollers, an electricalcontact connected with said pivotally mounted arm, a fixed contactarranged adjacent said first mentioned contact, pivotally mounted armsholding said rollers in such a position as to be elevated by the clothwhen moved laterally, said elevation causing said contacts to engage,and an electrically operated signal connected with said contacts wherebywhen the cloth moves in one direc tion for too great a distance a signalwill be sounded in addition to the shifting action of the feeder.

4. An automatic feeder of the character described comprising means forshifting the mechanism of the machine to which the device is secured, analarm device for indicating when either edge of the cloth moves for toogreat a distance toward the center, said alarm device being arrangedwith duplicate contact closing means on each side of the machine, eachof said contact devices comprising a supporting member having anelectrical contact, a pivotally mounted arm having an electricalcontact, said pivotally mounted arm being arranged substantially in linewith and above the cloth receiving means of the machine to which thefeeder is attached so that when either edge of the cloth movestransversely inwardly a predetermined extent said lever will movedownwardly under the action of gravity and close said contacts.

5. An automatic feeder of the character described comprising areciprocating power member reciprocating transversely of the ith"eac h=of said jcircuit closing cloth, but in it plane substantialiyajpawiglelwith the surface-thereof, ,apolothnclespingmeans on each side ofthermaehineeadepteii.

resisting the friction of the cloth-Meme passes thereover whenmomd.iny-a eorxeot path, but adapted to she incited-by when engaged by{the :body {of {the movement of the clasp causedqby th igqbha 1W wherebymotion is transmitted ,totgzl e qtgspv and associate parts forshitting-theme,- nism of said machine.-

6. An automatic feeder o f gthe ehmep described comprising-e toot ingmember with-two end, the sets of teeth on QQQhQQ-ifidflgglft oppositedirections, the cloth feedi the machine -be-ing adapted the central partof mem enmxmlgegham:eeqhtendo th t th d meme- :pi m t ly melee-t d @et ie byt aehnoir tslidi g m mbe f r withr:9 1 ,os i te rojectio ns adaptedto be giwtotengagement with the respective lieitbtm eeic rzteeth d=membx, sa catches Jzgjpg m-L angedto5engege the cloth when the 'iisgngmeditqQ'jffial gin one directlon so iozfthe actions .of the lGSPBCtlVev=enggyge one setiogf teeth and tvh n flthemloth' ha wmwedtt e a 111opposite direction the qiutohes will be reeoemtthe oppesit p-r jwtbherelim ng e theqpmq siteset-of teeth unwhe teby a h and ga s d ng.

p th cloth 95m ?m flh i meme-t .m edatwiththe ne pee .elet ree -w ng mzm e went ehe ee mg MAX' I- ETZ

